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A Russian court has fined US tech giant Apple 7.5 million roubles ($93,500) for three separate breaches of Russian rules on what Moscow calls LGBT propaganda, the Moscow courts’ press office said on Monday.

Russia in 2023 widened restrictions on the promotion of “non-traditional sexual relations” amid a broader crackdown on LGBT rights, which President Vladimir Putin has sought to portray as evidence of moral decay in Western countries.

Moscow’s Tagansky Court found Apple Distribution International Ltd. guilty of three administrative offences, ordering that three fines of 2.5 million roubles each be paid.

Apple did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Apple’s representative in court had requested that the hearings be closed to the public, the Mediazona news outlet reported, meaning that the root of each dispute was not known.

Russia has designated the “international LGBT movement” as extremist and those supporting it as terrorists, paving the way for serious criminal cases against LGBT people and their advocates.

Russian courts have issued fines for those that violate the “LGBT propaganda” law, including online film distributors and executives.

Trump-Putin Phone Call: Describing his conversation with President Putin as a call that went “very well”, he said that the negotiations are a significant step towards the “end of the war”.

Minutes after his two-hour-long phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump declared on his Truth Social platform that Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations towards a ceasefire.

Describing his conversation with President Putin as a call that went “very well”, he said that the negotiations are a significant step towards the “end of the war”. The US President stressed that the conditions of the bilateral talks “will be negotiated between the two parties” directly. This, he said, was the only way forward “because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of.”

Trump announces immediate bilateral negotiations for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

“Tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent,”: Trump on call with Putin

Trump emphasized the potential for extensive US-Russia trade post-conflict.

Zelenskyy highlighted Ukraine’s willingness to pursue a full ceasefire without preconditions, a proposal initially put forward by US President Donald Trump, while emphasising the need for Russia to demonstrate genuine commitment through concrete actions.

Following calls with US President Donald Trump and other European leaders on the potential ceasefire talks with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday (local time) voiced his uncertainty about Russia’s readiness to commit to a ceasefire, citing a lack of trust in Moscow’s intentions.

Zelenskyy highlighted Ukraine’s willingness to pursue a full ceasefire without preconditions, a proposal initially put forward by US President Donald Trump, while emphasising the need for Russia to demonstrate genuine commitment through concrete actions.

“I don’t know the principles from the Russian side. As I understood from our dialogue with US President Trump, the Russian side wants to send us a memo on how they see the principles, and they want to see not only a ceasefire; they want some more principles,” Zelenskyy stated.

“I really count on it that everybody is very interested in a ceasefire. Too many losses; we really want to finish this war. I’m not sure that Russia is ready and we don’t trust them. And that’s what we want from them: a ceasefire, at the first step, to show that they’re really ready to stop the war,” he added.

The Ukrainian President also underscored his consistent communication with international partners, saying, “I always share with all our partners, with the United States, with Europeans… I was very happy when President Trump proposed a full ceasefire without any conditions or preconditions. We’ve been ready for this. So these are our principles: ceasefire and then other steps, an exchange of prisoners.”

Zelenskyy’s remarks follow his engagement in a call with Trump and European leaders, during which he reaffirmed Ukraine’s readiness for direct negotiations with Russia.

After the call, the Russian leader said that Russia would work with Ukraine on a memorandum about a future peace accord, opposed to Trump, who said Russia and Ukraine would “immediately start negotiations” toward a ceasefire.

US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, had a two-hour-long call on Monday, which the American leader claimed “went very well” and said that Moscow has agreed to “immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire” with Ukraine. However, the Kremlin asserted that during the call, the two leaders had not discussed a timeline for a ceasefire, but that Trump had stressed his interest in reaching agreements quickly.

For President Trump, Monday’s call seemed like a major occasion, meant to ascertain Putin’s willingness to end the conflict in Ukraine. He previewed the call in all capital letters on social media, raising hopes for peace in Ukraine. For Putin, however, it seemed like a regular state affair for which he did not even clear his schedule. He squeezed in the call from a school for gifted children in Sochi.

After the call, the Russian leader said that Russia would work with Ukraine on a memorandum about a future peace accord, opposed to Trump, who said Russia and Ukraine would “immediately start negotiations” toward a ceasefire.

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov later told reporters that Putin and Trump had not discussed a timeline for a ceasefire.

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